Nutrition Degrees: Complete Guide

Welcome to ANA-JANA, your main resource for finding nutritionist degrees. On this site you will learn everything about this challenging and interesting career, along with information on finding proper schools and succeeding as nutrition graduate.

Is career in nutrition right for you?

First thing you should decide on while choosing the right nutrition school is the level of your degree. Below you can find the difference between them.

Types of nutrition training programs

You can earn a nutrition degree while attending a campus-based school, or you can learn online. You also have a chance to pick degree level – whether it’s Associate’s, Bachelor’s or Masters. There is also an option to pursue a degree on doctorate level. Here’s the difference between degree levels:

Associate’s Degree or Certificate

This is a basic educational level that will allow to start a career in nutrition in the fastest possible way.Available careers upon graduation: food science tech; dieteticDuration: 2 years

Bachelor’s Degree

Having a bachelor’s in nutrition is the most common requirement among employers.Available careers upon graduation: dietitian, nutritionistDuration: 4 years

Master’s Degree

Obviously, you will need a Bachelor’s degree in nutrition to proceed with Master’s. It will allow you to get a better-paid job or advance your career in nutrition.Available careers upon graduation: senior dietitian, nutritionist in private practice, management rolesDuration: 2 years (required 4 years of bachelors, so 6 years in total)

PhD

This is an option if you want to get and advanced career in nutrition, become a researcher, lecturer or food scientist.Duration: flexible

Theoretical component is the same both for ground and online schools. However, in-campus facilities offer practical training a laboratory courses, which online schools miss. On the other hand, online schools have considerable benefits – you can study at your own pace or working full-time in parallel – that’s why online degrees are becoming very popular among prospective nutritionists.

Although there are positions that only require Certificate or Associate’s Degree, we advise to choose Bachelor’s, since it will give much wider scope of knowledge and therefore, better prepare for the job which is easier to get with this degree. Above the Bachelor’s diploma itself, you will need a license.

Getting a nutrition degree

To become a nutritionist you will need to understand core aspects of human biology and metabolism. You will need to take lots of theoretical science courses, some health education, as well as administration classes.
The common nutrition training curriculum contains the following subjects in three groups:

Core

Biochemistry, Microbilogy, Physiology, Anatomy, Health Science

Career-specific

Microbiology, Nutritional Analysis, Food Safety, Nutritional Planning

Additional

Sociology, Business Administration, Computer Science

Why would some schools include subjects from the Additional category listed above? Are these really required? The thing is that nowadays many nutrtitionists run private practice. Of course, the better option will be to start of by working for someone, but for future these skills will help you understand how nutrtion industry is working, and therefore, will help you choose more profitable career path.

Nutrition career after graduation

When you graduate, you can choose between following popular careers:

Wellness advisor/consultant

Dietitian

Nutritionist

Nutrition educator

Job outlook for nutritionists is very promising, since healthcare is moving towards prevention on diseases. Right nutrition can solve a lot of potential health problems for patients, this is why people with nutrition training are always in demand.